Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-09-09

hand never yet kindled. There ore abodes
in the city-humble, two stories; four plain,
unpapered rooms; undesirable neighbour
hood; and yet there is man here this
morning who would die on that threshold
rather than surrender it. Why? 1t is a
home. Whenever he thinks Of it. he sees
angels of God lowering around it. The
ladders of Heaven are let down to that
house. Over the child's rough crib there
are the chantings of angels as those
that broke over Bethlehem. 1t is home.
These children may como up after awhile,
and they may win high position, and they
may have IN affluent residence; but they
will not until their dying day forget that
rested, and their mother sang and their
sisters played. o, if you would gather up
all tender memories, all the lights and
shades of the heart, all banquetings and
reunions, all flial, fraternal, paternal, and
conjugal affections, and you had only Just
four letters with which to spell out that
height and depth, and length, and breadth,
and magnitude and eternity of meaning,
you would, with streaming eyes, and trem-
bling voice, and agitated hand, write it out
in those four living capitals, HOMIE.
What right does woman want that is
grander than to be queen in such realm?
Why. the eagles of Heaven cannot fly
across that dominion. Horses, painting
and with lathered TANKS, are not swift
enough to run to the outpost of that realm.
They say that the sun never sets upon the
English empire; but have to tell you that
on this realm of woman's influence eter-
nifty never marks any bound. Isabella fled
from the Spanish throne, pursued by the
nations anathema; but she who is queen III
q homo will never lose her throne, and
death itself will only be the annexation of
heavenly principalities.
When you want to get your grandest idea
of queen you do not think of Catherine
Of Russia, or of Anne of England. or
Marie Theresa of Germany; but when you
you think of the plain woman who sat op-
posite your father at the table, or walked
with him arm in arm down life's pathway;
sometimes to the thanksgiving banquet,
sometimes to the grave, but always together
soothing your petty griefs, correcting
your childish waywardness, joining in your
infantile sports, listening to your evening
prayers, toiling for you with needle or at
the spinning-wheel, and on cold nights
wrapping you up snug and warm. And
then at last, on that day when she lay in
the back room dying, and you saw her
take those thin hands with which she toiled
for you so long and put them together in
dying prayer that commended you to the
God whom she had taught you to trust %,
she was the queen! The chariots of God
came down to fetch her, and as she went
in all Heaven rose up. You cannot thiEk
of her now without o rush of tenderness
that stirs the deep foundations of your soul,
and you feel as much child again as when
you cried on her lap; and if you could
bring her back again to speak just once
more your name as tenderly as she used to
speak it you would be willing to throw
yourself on the ground and kiss the sod
that covers her, crying: @Mother, mother"
All, she was the queen-she was the queen.
Now, can you tell me how many thousand
miles woman like that would have to
travel down before she got to the ballot
box? Compared with this work of train.
ing kings and queens for God and eternity,
how insignificant seems all this work of
voting for aldermen and common council
men, and sherifs, and constables, and
mayors, and presidents. To make one
such grand woman as 1 have described,
how many thousands would you want of
those people who go in the round of god
lessness and fashion and dissipation, dis
torting their body until in their monstrosi-
ties they seem to Guido the dromedary and
hippopotamus! going as far toward dis
SIuCc4u A upI)uIcl d6 tuSy udAC ~ o0 I'D AOV
to be arrested of the police-their behavior
q sorrow to the good and caricature Of the
vicious, and an insult to that God who
made them women and not gorgons; and
tramping on, down through frivolous and
dissipated life, to temporal and eternal
damnation.
o, woman, with the lightning of your
soul, strike dead at your feet all these al
lurements to dissipation and to fashion.
Your immortal soul cannot be fed upon
such garbage. God calls you up to en-
pire and dominion. Will you have it? 0,
give to God your heart; give to God you,
best energies; give to God all your culture;
give to God oil your refinement, give your
self to Him, for this world and the next.
Soon all these bright eyes will be quenched,
and these voices will be hushed. For the
last time you will look upon this fail
earth. Fathers hand, mothers hand,
sisters hand, child's hand will be no more
in yours. It will be night, and there will
come up cold wind from the Jordan, and
you must start. Will it be lone woman
on trackless moor? All! no. Jesus will
come up in that hour and offer His hand,
and He will say: "You stood by me when
you were we'll; now will not desert you
when you are SICK" One wave of His
hand, and the storm will drop; and an.
|
shall break into midnoon; and anothe,
wave of His hand, and the chamberlains
of God will come down from the treasure
houses of Heaven with robes lustrous.
blood-washed, and heaven glinted, in which
you will array yourself for the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And then with
Miriam, who struck the timbrel of the
Red Sea; and with Deborah, who led the
Lords host into the fight; and with Han.
nah, who gave her Samuel to the Lord
and with Mary, who rocked Jesus to SLEEP
while there were angels singing in the air
and with Florence Nightingale, who bound
up the battle wounds of the Crimea, yor
will, from the chalice Of God, drink to the
souls eternal rescue.
! One twilight, after / had been playing
| with the children for some time, I laid
down on the lounge to rest. The children
said, play more. Children always want tc
play more. And, half asleep and hall
awake, seemed to dream this dream. L
seemed to me that was in q far distan
land-not Persia, although more thar
oriental luxuriance crowned the cities; MOI
the tropics-although more than tropica
| fruitfulness filled the gardens; nor ITALY